Heavyweight boxer Magomed Abdusalamov is comatose and in the intensive care unit of a New York hospital following his Saturday night fight against Mike Perez at the Theater at Madison Square Garden.

The Russian-born fighter, a 6-3 southpaw, took some heavy shots from the Cuban-born Perez, and lost a unanimous decision after ten rounds.

The 32-year-old fighter broke his left hand in round one of the bout, he stated after, and suffered a broken nose, but seemed OK apart from those injuries after his fight, which was televised on HBO, and took place before the Gennady Golovkin-Curtis Stevens main event.

Hours later, “Mago” complained of a headache, though, and was taken to Roosevelt Hospital. He was placed in a comatose state by physicians, to reduce excess swelling of the brain, and reduce the possibility of more severe brain damage, according to Nathan Lewkowicz, the son of Mago's advisor Sampson Lewkowicz. The fighter was in stable condition, still comatose, at Roosevelt Hospital on 59th St. and 10th Ave. as of Sunday late afternoon, Nathan told TSS.

Mago's manager, Boris Grinberg, told TSS the fighter is “good” and that he is optimistic he will recover. A press release with more details will be released on Monday, he said.

A pro since 2008, Mago was undefeated at 18-0 entering the fight with the 19-0 Perez, with 18 KOs to his credit. The 28-year-old Perez boxed smartly, and had the fellow lefty backing up during the bout, which is not something Mago was used to. The Russian said he broke his left hand in the first round, and was unable to make a proper fist after that.

“The thoughts and prayers of all of us at HBO Sports are with Magomed Abdusalamov,” said HBO Sports President Ken Hershman on Sunday. “We are grateful for the medical care he is receiving here in New York City and out of respect for Magomed and his family, we will wait for any official updates on his condition before making any further statements.”

COMMENTS

amayseng :

Oh no, terribly sad to read this, will send out prayers .

spit bucket :

horrible news, had a bad feeling while watching this one... looked like a career-shortening beating, Let's hope it wasn't one that shortens his life. my thoughts are with you, Mago, If you show the courage and fighting spirit you displayed last night, I believe you will recover fully. I really hope so.

riverside :

wow , please not another loss!! i did see him take too many shots, but then i again never or heard or seen Perez fight before.

brownsugar :

I hope Mago will fully recover.
But at least its a medically induced coma being used to improve his condition and not the result of the beating he took.
If he would have won his corner would have been applauded for allowing their fighter the opportunity to pull out the win. There will now be questions to determine if his corner was watching out for his best interests.

Hop :

Please, no. Not another ... you know.

DaveB :

That is the reason why I never complain too much about a stoppage. I'd rather have 1,000 early stoppages than one that is too late. I'm not criticizing his corner because he was fighting and part of boxing is dealing with stuff like that. The left side of his face was swollen but who knew his brain was being affected this way? I know the fight would have been stopped in a heart beat had anyone known.

Carmine Cas :

Oh wow, my thoughts, prayers, and positive energy go out to you Mago. May you have healthy and speedy recovery. Even if he did win his face was deformed during the mid-late rounds of the fight the corner would still be under criticism. That heavyweight fight was a gem for today's standards lol, however regardless I really hopes he recovers completely. He proved to be a valiant warrior.

Radam G :

Not true, DaveB. A lot of fighters are in the game with known brain damage. The game is corrupt. And everything depends on how much money is being paid for that fighter and made for TV ratings. So there are minimun requirements for brain safety and what damage means.
A lot of boxers, including Oliver McCall, √ames Toney and Evander Holyfield are suspended by somes states and countries, while other ones give them a clean bill of health.
The bout should've been stopped. Taking heavy punches with half of the mug swollen like that and a purple-red eye white are grounds to stop the action.
Ninety-five percent of cornermen would have surrendered. You go out on your shield, not your life. The corner, with the pops and the arrogrant superfly-wanna-be trainer in it was terrible. Holla!

spit bucket :

Not true, DaveB. A lot of fighters are in the game with known brain damage. The game is corrupt. And everything depends on how much money is being paid for that fighter and made for TV ratings. So there are minimun requirements for brain safety and what damage means.
A lot of boxers, including Oliver McCall, √ames Toney and Evander Holyfield are suspended by somes states and countries, while other ones give them a clean bill of health.
The bout should've been stopped. Taking heavy punches with half of the mug swollen like that and a purple-red eye white are grounds to stop the action.
Ninety-five percent of cornermen would have surrendered. You go out on your shield, not your life. The corner, with the pops and the arrogrant superfly-wanna-be trainer in it was terrible. Holla!

Well said, Radam

kidcanvas :

oh man, im feeling real bad for this guy . this was the best fight of the night ,.. my heart goes out to his family ..

Domenic :

I agree with Carmine, this was a gem of a fight in today's heavyweight landscape or really at anytime for that matter. It was a bruising war and I was surprised his corner let him go the distance given how disfigured his face was and how preoccupied he was with it (think I remember him asking his corner after round 1 if his nose was broken and rather than sit on his stool he was looking at himself on the monitor). Though I don't blame them. It reminded me of looking at Hearns after the 2nd Barkley fight. Barely recognizable. Hope this warrior pulls through, thoughts and prayers are with him and his family.

dino da vinci :

Our prayers are with you.

DaveB :

Radam, I can't argue with that. I really hope this brother makes a full recovery. Shame on boxing for not protecting its own.

Radam G :

I hear ya, DaveB! Pro boxing is a shady, seedy hurt bitnezz of everybodee and dey momma for yourself. And the people closest to you in boxing are given the responsibilities of protecting of you.
The corner knew that their guy hadn't been more than four rounds in his life. And he was known as a knockout fighter. It is a known fact that KO punchers never adapt to taking beating. Dude had never gotten use to getting bang like that with gloves that size under hot-@$$ lights.
Cornerpeople and fight doctors suppose to be able to quicky tell inside-da-cranium possible damages by the eyes, face and head swelling and by looking up the nose and inside the mouth to see if swelling and blockage are there, which might mean possible "water on the brain" -- boxing talk for inflammed or swollen brain.
With all the above said, hopefully Magomed comes through. Holla!

amayseng :

its not like he was slipping punches, he just ate them flush round after round.....
hope he pulls through, he never quit in that ring after all those rounds of punishment, lets hope he still has some fight in him.

Hop :

That is the reason why I never complain too much about a stoppage. I'd rather have 1,000 early stoppages than one that is too late.

Maybe this is how I should start thinking. I confess that I have not in the past. I can't stop thinking about Abdusalamov, and feeling such a heaviness inside. And questioning myself as a fan. If any of you have worked through this struggle as a boxing enthusiast, help appreciated.

spit bucket :

Maybe this is how I should start thinking. I confess that I have not in the past. I can't stop thinking about Abdusalamov, and feeling such a heaviness inside. And questioning myself as a fan. If any of you have worked through this struggle as a boxing enthusiast, help appreciated.

Hop, i'm with you... feel the same way. It's one of the reasons I like great body punchers. No residual brain damage to the opposing fighter. Don't ever want to watch a person lose his life in brutal fashion for entertainment. Hoping desperately for Mago's full recovery and a long happy life.

spit bucket :

I hear ya, DaveB! Pro boxing is a shady, seedy hurt bitnezz of everybodee and dey momma for yourself. And the people closest to you in boxing are given the responsibilities of protecting of you.
The corner knew that their guy hadn't been more than four rounds in his life. And he was known as a knockout fighter. It is a known fact that KO punchers never adapt to taking beating. Dude had never gotten use to getting bang like that with gloves that size under hot-@$$ lights.
Cornerpeople and fight doctors suppose to be able to quicky tell inside-da-cranium possible damages by the eyes, face and head swelling and by looking up the nose and inside the mouth to see if swelling and blockage are there, which might mean possible "water on the brain" -- boxing talk for inflammed or swollen brain.
With all the above said, hopefully Magomed comes through. Holla!

Like "Requiem for Heavyweight" come to life.

DaveB :

I too am very saddened by this. This is a bad part of the sport. Usually when you think of this type of occurrence you think of the type of fight we just saw. A brutal war. I am always still sadden by this because I want, once the fight is over, for people to live literally to another day, I'm not concerned about the fighting so much. It is like Holyfied said I want to knock out people for 10 seconds, not for life. I don't know if there is an answer that I can straight up give you as a fan. Boxing is my guilty obsession, as is MMA and American football. In a way they all suck, in a way they are all beautiful. Like I was stating before, you think of fights like these when you think of this type of damage -Gerald McClendon vs. Nigel Benn, Ray Mancini vs. Doo Koo Kim, even Emile Griffith vs. Benny Paret - fights that are drawn out and a beating takes place. That is why fights went from 15 rounds to 12. Commissions, doctors, corners, referees etc., should protect fighters but sometimes fighters are guilty too. They fight under assumed names, get different doctors and things to be able to fight when they shouldn't but what ever reason it happens it makes you still feel like crap. I remember a long time ago there was a fighter, maybe he was Welsh not really sure, he was about 112 pounds, tall, and about 22 although he looked like he was about 12. The fight wasn't anything out of the ordinary. It didn't seem very brutal in terms of boxing. Maybe the fight went eight rounds, this kid collapsed and never recovered. God, that hurt me so bad. It stayed with me for the longest time. Gosh I never saw it as being brutal until the end came. The ref was right on top of the action. It wasn't like when Perez let Cooney tee off on Norton with about four punches Norton should have never have gotten hit with. That fight with that kid let me know that you never know what will happen and although I'm for giving fighters a chance I can live with an early stoppage better than I can this.

Hop :

Thanks, Dave. I appreciate your post.
Spit Bucket, who are some of your favorite body punchers?

spit bucket :

Chavez Sr., Frazier, Trinidad, Duran, Barrera, SRL, GGG, Micky Ward, Tyson, Jhonny Gonzalez, and Bazooka Limon come to mind. Mike McCallum was the body-snatcher but I don't remember him that well... One of the best liver shots I've ever seen was Amir Khan's, in knocking down Marcos Maidana in the 1st round. Absolutely perfect if memory serves. I also admire body punchers because it's risky to go downstairs.

Radam G :

Boxing wars are hell, and sometimes people are badly injuried and/or die. It may make you cry. Too them, you say goodbye. And then moving on, you try. And if you are able to keep going on or not, once again somebody will be badly injuried and/or die.
The cycle never ends. You must go on. Boxing is a metaphor for life. There is always death and strife. But you must go on.
@Hop, I gotta say that you have too much of a caring heart. And that is grand. But a fleeting heart is just like a grain of sand -- not much of a helping hand. Fans and good people like you are greatly in demand.
If that bout were not on television, it would've been halted. But the greed for television rating kept it going to almost DA DEATH. Our sport is DEEPLY, DOUBTLY corrupted.
Most than anybody else, I'm super pi$$ed at Magomed's corner. They should have known and probably DID that Magomed was already suffering a brain injury after the first round. Asking if his nose was broken would've set off thousands of alarms for 95 percent of the competence trainers of the game. [SHAME on trainer John David Jackson.]
A decent corner -- not influenced by HBO ratings and a chance to be back on -- would've look up Magomed's nostrils, saw them swollen close from busted vessels and veins, and knew Lesson 101 -- the brain could be trying to protect itself from on-coming injuries by swelling and closing paths to it by sending electrical bursting waves to bust up vessels and veins in the pathways of the nostrils, throat and ears to create a cushion of protection for a traumatized, bouncing-around brain.
I don't buy it for a MINUTE that the corner didn't KNOW from the JUMP what was happening to Magomed, but they wanted to chance it because of the pressure of getting another fight on HBO. TV Boxing on the elite networks ain't ever being SAFETY first for the fighter. They love BLOOD, BLOOD and BLOOD. Never mind a bit of blood and a lot of sweat and tears. Sweat and tears don't apply. Bring the BLOOD!
The game is a cutthroat sport with double-cutthroat and borderline sociopathic mafia-like producers and providers of it.
Trust me! HBO and 90 percent of the providers/producers of professional pugilism are not crying a tear about Magomed. They are happy crying a river for the next bloodbath of a fight. And the more hard-fought injuries that may come, the more the producers/providers are going to dig it.
Let's be BIG BOYS and call a spade a spade. And realize that the HBOs and Showtimes have the ace, king and queen. And the big grins on their ugly mugs. Because everybodee else and dey momma are weak-arse jokers. Holla!
:rolleyes::eek:

Hop :

@Hop, I gotta say that you have too much of a caring heart. And that is grand. But a fleeting heart is just like a grain of sand -- not much of a helping hand. Fans and good people like you are greatly in demand.

You are far from being a misfit. You have a brain, you have a heart and you have courage. All what the weasels and squirrels of our sport don't have. They are just a bunch of not-seeking-help scarecrows, tin men and super cowardly, flea-infested alley cats.
They would assault and rape a girl from Kansas and shoot her dog. And then proceed to mafia march down the "Yellow Brick Road" to the Land of Oz and fudge up everything enchanted along the way, but not before they make the munchkins fight in a super-dwarf tournament for chicken change.
If the pro boxing BIG WIGS were in helldom running things like they are running boksing, Satan would draw a line and holla: "DOUBLE-DEVIL D@MN they are evil! Ain't got enough heat for ____ _____s like their trifling arses. Help me Jesus CHRIST?" Holla!